Steering mechanism for motor-operated gang-plows.



J. M. KING.

STEERING MEGHANISM FOR MOTOR OPERATED GANG FLOWS.

APPLIoATIoN FILED MAR. 30, 1911.

1,033,708. Patented July 23,191.2.v

s SHEETS-SHEET 'u @wi/kwamen J. M. KING.

STEERING MECHANISM POR MOTOR OPBRATED GANG PLOWS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 30, 1911. 1,033,708. Patented July 23, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Kivu?) J. M. KING.

STEERING MECHANISM POR MOTOR OPERATED GANG PLOWS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. so, 1911.

1,033,708. Patented July 23, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

@wi/kwam@ Ji KB @Hom/WAP tion of iii-Narren simens refr-lunar onirica..

JAMES MOSES KING, OF FRAZEE, MINNESOTA.

STEERING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR-QPRATED{GANG-FLOWS.

leemos.

Specification of Letterslatent.

Patented July 23, 1912.

Application filed. March 30, 1911. Serial No. 617,942.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES MOSES KING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Frazee, in the county of Becker and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steering Mechanism for Motor-Operated Gang- Plows; and I do declare the following to bey 'a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled -in the'art tol which it appertains to make and use the same. l This invention relates to improvementsin steering mechanism for motor operated gang plows'.

One object of the invention is to providef a gang plow having an improved construcautomatic steering vmechanism whereby the machine is caused to travel parallel -withy the furrows. which have been y previously plowed.

Withl his andother objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be more fully dev scribed and particularly pointed out in the 5 inl the vcfziterends of appended claims. Y

In the accompanying drawings:l Figure 1 is a plan view of myv improved plow; Fig..

2 is aside of the same; Fig. 3 isa vertical longitudinal Section of the rear portion-of the machine; Fig. 4 is a verticalv cross section through the front end of the machine and the steering mechanism takenV on the line 4 4' of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a detailhori-I zontal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is 'a detail perspective view .ofthe driving and clutchgmechanism' for the plow `lifting devices showing the parts of t-he -same separated Fig. 7 is a detail sec- Itional-view through said parts.

Referring more particularly to 'the' draw ingsl denotes the -main supporting frame of the plow, said frame having4 arrange thereon'a platform 2. The rear` portion vof^ theframe is supported Onan axle 3 on the outer ends of which-areloosely vmounted supporting. wheels ,4.

'fSecured' to the' forward end of the platarranged cross bar form 2 isv .ya diagonally f wl'iich are slidably mounted tl'''fstandards 6.and 7. of .front sup,

porting or'y caster` wheels Brand '9. The

Standard 6* ofV4 the wheel- 5.5 upper portion d,8 hasya squared which works loosely through an Opening in the 'crossbarj and extendsa) H14 is fixed a steering wheel 15 whereby the ,steering mechanism is operated to turn vthe to ,Slidev vertically it will be readily Seen that thexwheel is allowed to travel in the' furrow while the body of the machine is `maintained in a levelposition.

bar. 5 in which the standard of the wheel 8 is arranged projects a Suitable distance beyond the side of the'machine to permit said -wheel to drop down and travely iiilthe last furrow formed'by the plow', .thusv guiding `iviously plowed. In order to hold the wheel 8 down intoengagement with the furrow I preferably provide a lever 16 which is'piv- -oted intermediate its ends to ani eye..bolt -z17 passed through the b ar 5 and adjacent por- 216 is disposed'on an oblique line across the lline with the diagonal cross bar 5 and f works in a diagonallyl arranged guide-way l18.. formed in the .frame 1 as shown. lends of the lever are loosely engaged with fthe standards 6 and 7 of the wheels8 and of said wheels asv shown. By thus arrangd -ingrthe'lever it will be.seen that, whenl the vwheel 8 -is in a furrow and the oppofsite'l wheel 9 on hard ground, said lever will be *rocked and theendof the-same which enlatter down in; the flirrow bythe weight of the machine on therlever and the engagement of theopposite end thereof with the rfork ofl'the'-wheel'9-which acts as a .ful-` crum. f

steering wheel 8. By extending thefstandard of the wheel 8 and mounting, the same -v `or keeping t-he machine in line to form thev successive furrows parallel with those .pre-` tion of the platform as Shown. vThe lever' The l9 and bear on the upper ends of the forks'A i gages the fork of thewheel 8 will hold the.

The numeral L19 designatesa plow ort' frame the f rward end of v which is hinglellyfconnectedto the rear end of g ablebearings on the platform of the plow as shown. On the upper end of the posty It will be noted that the end of the cross .l

frame and lies immediately lbelow or in frame 1 by a suitable hinge 20. The rear end of the frame 19 is supported by a caster 'hanger bars or rodsA 27 to the outer ends of the plow beams as shown.

-In order to raise and lower the plows out of and into engagement with the ground, I provide a suitable lifting mechanism comprising a rock shaft 27, mounted in suitable bearing standards 28 across the rear end of the main frame 1', and on this shaft a series of cams 29 each of which is adapted to engage theforward end of one of the plow operating levers26. The cams 29 gradually increase in Asize from one side of the machine'to the other so that when the shaft is rocked, said 'cams will be successively brought into engagement with the levers 26 thus successively raising the plows out of the ground. By thus arranging the plow lifting mechanism it will be seen that but one plow is lifted at a time so that the lexcessive strain which would result if all the plowswere lifted at once is obviated.

The lshaft 27 is turned by a suitable operating mechanism comprising a sprocket gear 30 which is loosely mounted on the shaft and is operatively engaged therewith by a clutch device 31 one member 31a of which is engaged with the squared hub of the gear 30 while the other member 31b is formed on or connected to a locking disk 32 fiXedly mounted on the shaft 27 and having on.: its outer edge an annular ange 33 in which at diametrically opposite points are formed stop notches 34. With the clutch member forming part of the gear 30 is operatively connected one` end of a shifting clutch lever 35 which is pivoted on a suitable standard 36 lsecured to the platform of the machine and extends'across the flange 33. Between the clutch members is arranged a coiled spring 37 whereby said members of the clutch are normally held apart. The outer end of the lever is connected by an operating rodv 38 to a suitably mounted operating lever 39 whereby the clutch member 31"* on the hub of the gear 30 may be thrown into engagement with the clutch member 31b on the disk 32 against the pressure of said spring 37. The cams 29 on the shaft 27 are so arranged with respect to the notches 34 in the flange 33 of the disk 32. that when the'plows are in a lowered or operative position and the clutch members separated, one oi-.the other of the, notches will engage the clutch shifting lever 35 thereby forming a stop which Willa-prevent the revolution of the shaft 27 and the cams until the clutch shifting lever is movedby handvto throw .the clutch members together and thus connect the gear 30- with the shaft to turn the cams and thereby rock the levers 26 and lift the plows.

O n the platform 2 of the machine is arranged a'motor 40 which may be of any suitable style or construction and is here shown in the form of a gas engine. On the drive shaft of the engine are loosely mounted power transmitting gears 41 and 42 said gears being-provided with clutch members adapted to be-engaged by a double faced clutch 43 Awhich is slidably keyed to the engine shaft `and provided with a suitable shifting lever 44 whereby the same may be shifted to engage either one or the other of the gears 41 or 42 thus locking the same to j the engine'shaft.

Revolubly mounted in suitable bearings on the platform of the machine is a power transmitting shaft 45 on which is xedly mounted a spur gear 46. The gear 46 is in operative engagement with" the gear 41 on the engine shaft whereby when said'gear 41 is locked to the engine shaft' the shaft 45 will be driven in one direction.- Also mounted on the shaft 45 is a spur gear 47 which is engaged with apinion 48 on a short counter-shaft 49 on which is also' ixedly'mounted a gear 50. The-gear 50 is inoperative engagement with the gear .42l on the engine shaft whereby when the clutch .43 is shifted into engagement with said gear the shaft 45 will be driven in a reversedirection.

On the. outer ends of the power shaft 45 are loosely mounted driving sprockets 51 which are connected by sprocket chains 52 to sprocket gears -53 -on the supporting. wheels 4 of the machine. The driving sprockets 51 have formed thereon one member of clutches 54 the opposing members of which are slidably keyed to the shaft 45 aiidf-are adapted tobe shifted into and outof e'ngagement with the clutch members of the sprockets by shifting levers 55 and 56. The shifting lever 55 is' connected by suitable operating rods 57 and a bell crank lever 58 with an operating lever 59;;whereby the driving sprocket on one sidegofi the machine is locked to the shaft 45 and/ thus drives the supporting wheel connectedthereto. The shifting lever 56 on .the opposite side of the machine is connected by an operating rod 60 to an operating lever 61 whereby .the clutch on this side of the machine is operated to lock this driving sprocket to the shaft 45 whereby the supporting wheel connected to this sprocket is driven. @By thus arranging thezclutch devices 54 it will be 130 seen that the driving mechanism for either or both of the supporting wheels may be I thrown into or out of gear when desired. It

Will also be seen that by means of the reversing mechanism for the shaft 45 that the latter may be connected with the drive shaft of the engine to propel the machine for# wardly or rearwardly.

.On the shaft 45 is ixedly mounted a spur gear v62 which is in operative engagement with a similar gear 63 fixed on a countershaft 64 revolubly mounted in suitable bearings on the platform of the machine. On the shaft 64 is also xedly mounted a sprocket gear 65 which is connected by a sprocket chain 66 to the sprocket gear 30 on the cam operating shaft 27 whereby when said sprocket 30 is locked to said shaft the latter will be driven by the power transmitting shaft 45 to raise and lower the plows as hereinbefore described.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings' the construction and operation. of the 1nvention will bev readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle on sacrificing any of the advantages ofthe invention as defined in the appended claims. n

Having thus described my invention what I claim is: j

1. A plow ofthe character described includin a wheeled supporting frame, and a steering mechanism arranged von the front end of the machine, said mechanism comprising an obliquely disposed supporting bar, caster wheel standards slidably mounted in the opposite ends of said bar, caster wheels operatively mounted on the lower ends of said standards, one of said standards being extended to permit the, caster wheel thereon to travel in a furrow without tilting the machine, a lever pivotalyly mounted in the frame of the machine and'having a loosel en agement with the standards of said caster w eels whereby the weight of the machine will holdV one of said wheels in the furrow, a steering `sleeve ,revolubly mounted on said wheel supporting bar and having a sliding engagement with the extended shank of one of said caster wheels, a sprocket gear fixed on said sleeve, a steering post arranged on the machine, a sprocket gear connected to said post, a sprocket chain connecting said gears, and a hand wheel mountcentrally pivoted beneath lsaid frame and having similar openings at its extremities, a caster-wheel whose shank is journaled through the openings at one end of said bar and lever, a second caster wheel whose standard is similarly mounted in the openingsat4 the other ends thereof and is made angular in cross section and extended above said bar, a sleeve revolubly mounted on said bar and in which the angular extension of the standard slides, this caster wheel being disposed to one side of the nearest main supporting wheel and adapted to travel in one of the previously formed furrows, a steering wheel, and connections between said steering wheel and sleeve for permitting the latter to be turned.

3. In a motor operated gang plow of the class described, the combination with the wheeled vsupporting frame,'of a bar across said frame having upright openings at its extremities, a lever centrally pivoted beneath said frame andhaving similar open-` ings at its extremities, a caster wheel whose shank is journaled through the openings at one end of said bar and lever, a second caster wheel whose standard is similarlyA mounted in the openings at theother ends' thereof and isextended above said bar and made angular in crossl section, a collar mounted on said bar, a sleeve slidably mounted on the angular extension 'of said standard and having a fiange revolubl engaging said collar, the caster Wheel o this standard being disposed to one side of the nearest maijn supporting wheel and adapted to travel in one of the previously formed furrows, a'steering wheel, and connections between said steerlng wheel and sleeve for permitting the latter to be turned.

4. In a plow of the class described, the combination with the wheeled supporting frame having a diagonal guide-way across its front end, of a cross bar secure upon the frame and extending obliquely across it above said ide-way, a rocking lever mounted wjthln said guide-way and its ends extending beyond the sides of the frame and beneath the endsu of said cross bar, a caster wheel traveling on the unplowed ground and having its standard journaled in one end of said lever and the corresponding end of said bar, a second caster wheel traveling in the previously formed furrow and having its standard journaled through the other end of said lever and the corresponding end of the barv and rising above the same, a sprocket gear connected with its upper end, a steering wheel, and connections between said gear and steering wheel, for the purpose set forth.

5. In a plow of the class described, the combination with the wheeled supporting frame having a-diagonal guide-way across its front end; of a rocking lever mounted 4 lmfro ,f

within said guide-way and its ends exisendvneetions` between said gearv and steering j ing beyond the sides ofthe frame; a caster wheel, for the purpose set forth.

wheel traveling on the unplowed ground In testimony whereof I have hereunto set and having' its standard journaled in one my hand in presence of two subscribing wit- 5 end f .sald ver, a seclom castarflvheel nesses.

trave in n t e previous y orme rrow and havng itsjs'tandard journaled through JAM-S MOSES KING the other end offsaid lever and rising above Witnesses: the same, a. sprocket gear connected with L. W. OBEBHAUSEL L0 its upper end, a steerlng wheel, and con- WM. ESPENSON. 

